When you think of the word "worm" what comes to mind? Slimy, squishy,
squirmy, and wriggly creatures that you would rather not think about?
If that's what you first think of, you are not alone. But did you know
that many types of worms, especially the ones that you find in your
garden, are very important to the environment?
Earthworms are terrestrial invertebrates belonging to the Lumbricidae
family. Earthworms have no eyes, ears, or lungs. They breathe through
their skin, which is very thin to allow air to diffuse through.
Earthworms have to be very careful about staying moist. Their delicate
skin is very sensitive to sunlight.
Earthworms are in a sense the "pigs" of the underground. That
is, they will eat just about anything that is organic. Cardboard,
fruits, vegetables, wood chippings, egg shells, vacuum cleaner dust,
leaves, paper, hair, oats, lawn clippings, and anything else organic is
a meal for an earthworm. In a favorable environment, earthworms will
eat their weight in food daily. If you have a pound of earthworms, you
can expect them to eat a pound of food a day. That's a lot of material
for such small worms!
It's not just the fact that earthworms eat such a variety of
waste materials that makes them useful. What goes in the earthworm must
come out, and earthworm fecal matter (called "castings") is incredibly
beneficial to plants and adds nutrition to the soil. And earthworms
burrow through soil, which helps loosen and aerate the soil. That fact
is also very good for plants.
The importance of earthworms for agriculture is so great
that there is a business for raising earthworms and collecting
earthworm fertilizer. Earthworm "farms" are created to collect valuable
earthworm fertilizer. Here is your chance to create a '"farm" of your
own.
Materials:
1 Gallon milk jug, thoroughly cleaned out
Moist soil
Earthworm starter food (try banana peel, apple core, and eggshells in very small crushed pieces)
Earthworms (you can purchase them from your local nursery or do some earthworm hunting in your backyard)
Newspaper
Cut the top ¼ of your milk jug off. This will make it easier for you to get your hands into.
Poke 4 tiny (it is important that they are much smaller than the diameter of your worms) holes in the bottom of your milk jug.
Place moist soil in the gallon of the milk jug. Mix in
½ of the starter food and put the remaining ½ of the
starter food on the surface.
Add in the earthworms!
Cover the earthworm farm surface with newspaper and keep the
worm farm out of direct sunlight in room temperature. (Hint: A garage
is often a great place)
Add in more food every few weeks or so. Be careful to not add too much as this will create a stench.
Every three months, you can dump your worm garden out in a
flower garden or add the nutritious compost to your houseplants. Your
plants will thank you! Of course, that means you will need to start up
a new worm garden!
Will the worms have any baby worms in the worm farm?
It is quite possible! Worms are actually hermaphrodites,
meaning they are both male and female. This means that any 2 adult
worms can be parents as one will take the male gender and the other
will take the female gender. A female worm will lay a cocoon that can
have up to 20 baby worms inside. These cocoons are smaller than a grain
of rice so it is not likely that you will see them. But in good
conditions, yes, it is possible for your worms to reproduce.
Are there any foods I should not put in?
Do not put in any meat or dairy products. This is because of
the smell. Try to limit putting anything in your worm farm that can
become smelly. Also, earthworms do not like acidic or spicy foods so
keep oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits away. Earthworms also
dislike strong smelling foods such as onions or garlic.
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When you think of the word "worm" what comes to mind? Slimy, squishy,
squirmy, and wriggly creatures that you would rather not think about?
If that's what you first think of, you are not alone. But did you know
that many types of worms, especially the ones that you find in your
garden, are very important to the environment? 